Santa María de la Rosa

The Spanish Empire had achieved its pinnacle by the second half of the 16th century. King Phillip II sought to enlarge his dominion by conquering England after claiming huge portions of North and South America, as well as the majority of the Caribbean. Huge error. The mistake would lead to a humiliating setback that resulted in the destruction of twenty-four Spanish ships on the Irish shore, among them the Santa Mara de la Rosa.

The Spanish Armada, a fleet of around 150 ships, sailed towards Flanders in August 1588. (Spanish Netherlands). The Spanish planned to meet up with the Duke of Parma's army and transport them across the English Channel. But alas, as with many excessively ambitious battles throughout military history, things didn't quite go as expected.

The depleted Armada tried to make its way back to Spain by skirting Ireland after the British Royal Navy won the Battle of Gravelines with ease. The erratic North Atlantic winds, however, proved too much for the inadequately outfitted Spanish boats.

The Santa Maria de la Rosa, formerly a light merchant ship, struck a large reef close to the Blasket Islands, off the westernmost tip of Ireland, and quickly sank. Only one man, out of its 64 sailors and 233 soldiers, survived.